Thursday, April 30, 2015

Tomorrow is the big day! The city of Milano has been gearing towards this moment for decades. The world exhibition, “Expo Milano 2015”, is opening its doors tomorrow.

You too can take a trip to the world exhibition between 1 May and 31 October 2015. With SBB you travel direct to the exhibition location and back home again – conveniently and with no traffic jams – thanks to trains offering more than 2000 additional seats per day.

With Milano Rho Fiera only 200 metres from the exhibition site, the best way to travel to Expo Milano 2015 is by train. And you can also stretch your legs or get a bite to eat en route in the restaurant on board EuroCity trains or else from the SBB Minibar.

Under the motto “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life”, 144 countries devote themselves to topics such as technology, innovation, culture and tradition. They are focusing on the rights of all people to a healthy and adequate diet. Visit this exciting exhibition – whether alone, with the family, as a company or as a group – including an overnight stay or simply for the day.

Switzerland at the Expo
The pavilion for the Swiss project, “Confederatio Helvetica”, consists of a large, open area with four towers filled with apple rings, water, salt and coffee. Visitors are invited to travel up the towers in lifts and help themselves to the Swiss delicacies. As the towers gradually empty, the platforms they are built on start to sink. The gradual emptying of the towers is designed to encourage people to think about their own attitude to consumption.

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

After 82 years, the picturesque Venetian Festival is back in town, with dances from the past and the participation of over 50 masks, many of which regularly attend St. Marco's Square in Venice. An event not to miss on Saturday, May 2nd, 2015.

The programme:
14.15: Departure from the Palazzo dei Congressi, Via Canova, Piazza San Rocco, Piazza Dante, arriving at Piazza Cioccaro
14:45: Descent down the staircase of the Cathedral
16:00: Minuets in Piazza San Carlo
16:45: Arrival in Piazza Reform and dances
17:30: Happy Hour with Venetian masks at the restaurants Olympia and Federal, in Piazza Reforma

Programme in case of rain:
14:30: Upon arrival of masks in Piazza Reforma, the groups will find cover under the arcades of the city center
17:30: Happy Hour with Venetian masks in restaurants Olympia and Federal, in Piazza Reforma

Sunday, April 26, 2015

Have you heard the news? If you're living in Switzerland consider yourself lucky. You're residing in the world's happiest country.

The scores are in for the 2015 World Happiness Report, and it turns out, the land of watches, chocolate and cheese has been crowned the happiest nation on Earth.

The 172-page report, compiled by the UN General Assembly, factors in six key issues in its rankings, including GDP per capita, life-span, social support, trust in government and businesses, perceived freedom to make life decisions, and generosity.

Since it was first published in 2012, the World Happiness Report demonstrated that well-being and happiness are critical indicators of a nation's economic and social development, and should be a key aim of policy.

The World Happiness Report 2015 shows that at both the individual and national levels, all measures of well-being, including emotions and life evaluations, are strongly influenced by the quality of the surrounding social norms and institutions. These include family and friendships at the individual level, the presence of trust and empathy at the neighborhood and community levels, and power and quality of the over-arching social norms that determine the quality of life within and among nations and generations. When these social factors are well-rooted and readily available, communities and nations are more resilient.

Friday, April 24, 2015

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

There is no excuse! It is time to get fit and make new friends at the same time!

Amy's motto is: " RUN TO A HEALTHIER, SEXIER, MORE CONFIDENT YOU!"
Running is the best energy boosting, heart pumping, calorie blasting workout you can do anywhere, anytime with anyone! It's the perfect stress reliever, confidence builder and total body workout that'll literally take you to new places while you have some fun (hopefully in the sun!) too!

Road Runners will hit the road every Tues (pm), Thurs (pm) and Sat (am) for the next 8 weeks. The programme is designed to take you from 0-5km in just 8 weeks. Sessions will be one hour long (not ALL running!) including:
- Body Pumping warm up
- Lugano Lake run focused on that week's goal
- Strength training/Active cool down. ​

​The programme will begin with a Run/Walk balance to build up stamina, gradually increasing "time on feet", eventually changing the focus to build mileage. Finishing with your successful completion of a 5km run! Non-Stop :)

Sound too good to be true? Nope, just click here and sign up now!
For more info call call Amy at 079/588'05'26, e-mail her at amyker@amykfit.com or check out her website here.

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

"Walking Lugano" is one of the most important Swiss appointments for walking and Nordic walking fans. You can choose from six different itineraries (from 6.6 to 18.6 Km), all extremely attractive in terms of landscape and well-suited for all sorts of fitness levels. There are longer and more demanding itineraries for those who want to test their endurance and “softer”, more level itineraries of just a few kilometres for others. The most original itinerary is the 8.2km “Lake and Walking” which also includes a boat trip from Lugano to Gandria.

Sunday, April 12, 2015

Browsing through Pinterest this afternoon, I came across the Expat book section. The selections below include a range of topics such as expat memoirs, third culture kid books, anthologies, country guides, fiction, tough topics and much more. Fiction & non-fiction!

So should you have a Pinterest account, enter Expat books into the search field and browse for yourself OR just click on one of the four boards below. Happy Reading!

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Dove is known for its powerful, inspiring ad campaigns, and can be credited as one of the first major companies to shift the conversation and spotlight onto real women. The result? Videos that are viral sensations and strike a serious emotional chord with audiences. This latest endeavor might be the iconic beauty brand's most moving effort yet.

For its "Choose Beautiful" campaign, Dove highlighted five cities across the globe — San Francisco, Shanghai, Delhi, London, and Sao Paulo. Women in local shopping areas were filmed as they walked up to one of two doors; each entrance was marked with a bold sign reading "average" or "beautiful." The camera followed the women as they entered through their chosen door, where they were asked to explain their thought process, and to define the term "beautiful."

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Did you know that today was World Health Day? "Food Safety" is the topic of World Health Day 2015. The campaign uses a simple and eye-catching image to make readers aware of the hidden dangers that can lurk within everyday foods.

Did you know it is estimated that two million deaths occur every year from contaminated food or drinking water? Or that over 200 diseases are caused by unsafe food containing harmful bacteria, parasites, viruses, chemical substances?

World Health Day is celebrated on 7 April, with WHO highlighting the challenges and opportunities associated with food safety under the slogan “From farm to plate, make food safe.”

Access to sufficient amounts of safe and nutritious food is key to sustaining life and promoting good health. Food supply chains now cross multiple national borders. Good collaboration between governments, producers and consumers helps ensure food safety.

Thursday, April 2, 2015

Lugano's Anglican Church invites you to their Easter celebration. Families are invited to bring small chocolate eggs to hide in the garden. Each child will need a basket for the Easter Egg Hunt.

Come and celebrate the joy of Easter with St.Edward's! The Sunday School team have prepared lots of exciting activities. In case of rain there is plenty of room indoors!

ALL CHILDREN ARE THE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY OF A PARENT OR GUARDIAN WHO MUST BE PRESENT AND ACCOMPANY THEM THROUGHOUT THIS EVENT.

Venue: St. Edward's Easter Party
Where: Ex-Asilo in Magliaso, Via Cantonale 36, Magliaso
When: Monday, April 6th, 2015
Time: 14:00 to 17:00
There are lots of parking spaces adjacent to the playground or in the municipal car park nearby.
Please let Diana know if you are coming: dellacqua@ticino.com

Followers

Globetrotting

The Mom song

Cheap flights

Voice Recognition Elevator

La leçon de géographie

Things I've learned from my children:

Always look in the oven before you turn it on. Plastic toys do not like ovens.

The spin cycle on the washing machine does not make earth worms dizzy. It will, however, make cats dizzy.

Cats throw up twice their body weight when dizzy.

Marbles in gas tanks make lots of noise when driving.

Garbage bags do not make good parachutes.

No matter how much Jell-O you put in a swimming pool you still can't walk on water.

Pool filters do not like Jell-O.

Super glue is forever.

Play Dough and Microwave should never be used in the same sentence.

Certain LEGOs will pass through the digestive Tract of a four year old.

A six year old can start a fire with a flint rock even though a 36 year old man says they can only do it in the movies. A magnifying glass can start a fire, even on an overcast day.

Brake fluid mixed with Clorox makes smoke, and lots of it.

When you hear the toilet flush and the words "Uh-oh," it's already too late.

You should not throw baseballs up when the ceiling fan is on. When using the ceiling fan as a bat, you Have to throw the ball up a few times before you get a hit. A ceiling fan can hit a baseball a long way.

The glass in windows (even double pane) doesn't Stop a baseball hit by a ceiling fan.

A king size waterbed holds enough water to fill a 2000 sq. foot house 4 inches deep.

If you spray hair spray on dust bunnies and run over them with roller blades, they can ignite.

If you hook a dog leash over a ceiling fan, the Motor is not strong enough to rotate a 42 pound boy wearing Batman underwear and a superman cape. It is strong enough, however, if tied to a paint can, to spread paint on all four walls of a 20 by 20 foot room.